Colville runs over Clarkston

October 24, 2013

Colville High (5-2, 2-1) piled up 308 yards of rushing in running past Clarkston 27-7 last Friday night in a Great Northern League football game at Colville.
The Indians havenât put up rushing numbers that gaudy since Colton Davis was the featured back in 2011. The game also marked the first time since 2009 that three CHS running backs either eclipsed or came close to the 100-yard mark in rushing in a game.
Colton Vining led the Indiansâ punishing ground game with 114 yards on 18 carries. Journy Young, turning in the most impressive game of his career to date, added 99 yards on 14 carries. Fullback Zach Shoemaker put up another 92 yards on 11 carries.

âA long timeâ

This one was vintage Colvilleârun the ball, keep the clock moving and the opposing offense off the field.
âThat was very impressiveâŠitâs been a long time since weâve done that,â Colville head coach Randy Cornwell said of the big rushing night.
The Indians didnât have to throw it. Junior lefty quarterback Ben Knight was 3 of 10 for 59 yards and one touchdown. CHS didnât throw a second half pass. They didnât have to.
Clarkston (1-6, 0-4) had absolutely no luck running the ball against Colvilleâs stout front seven. The Bantams managed only 43 yards on the ground. Clarkston was 19 of 34 through the air for 238 yards and one touchdown.
THIS WEEK
After a pair of home games, Colville will hit the road on Friday for the jaunt down Highway 395 to Deer Park (1-6, 0-3).
No matter what the talent level and the record, DP always seems to get up for Colville. Friday night should be no different.
âDeer Park always gets up for us,â CHS head coach Randy Cornwell said of the struggling Stags, who were very competitive in a 28-14 loss last Friday at up and down Cheney (5-2, 1-2).
Colville managed to beat DP 10 straight times until the Stags upended the Indians last season.
âDeer Park certainly has nothing to lose,â Cornwell said, figuring his improving Indians might see a little bit of everything from DPâs bag of tricks. âThey like to throw it all out thereâfake punts, gadget playsâŠlots of gimmicks.â

QB Clough is dangerous for Deer Park

In the loss to Cheney, Nick Clough passed for a pair of touchdowns for Deer Park. The game was close until Cheneyâs Austin Kline ran 41 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Blackhawks some breathing room.
RECAP
Colville played well on both sides of the ball against a Clarkston team that likes to air it out. The Indiansâ came up with several key fourth down stops that snuffed Clarkston drives.
âOur defense came up big at key times in the game,â Cornwell said. âAnd I thought we played a little better in the second halfâŠit was definitely the best we have run the ball all year.â
CHS thwarted the first Clarkston drive midway through the first quarter when Ryley Smith knocked down a Clarkston pass on fourth down at the Tribe 21-yard-line.
Colville threatened late in the first quarter, getting to the Clarkston 16-yard-line before an intentional grounding call on Knight stalled the Indians.
Colville got on the board first, taking over at its own 48-yard-line and taking five plays to cover the 52-yards.
Knight, on a perfect play action fake, froze the Clarkston DBâs and found Young wide open in the Bantamsâ secondary on a 44-yard pass and run play. The PAT by Josh Hill was good and Colville led 7-0 with 11:14 left in the second quarter.
Colville forced a Clarkston punt on their ensuing possession and the Indians went to work again.
Taking advantage of another short field situation, CHS took over at the Clarkston 44-yard-line with 7:46 left in the half. Shoemakerâs seven-yard scoring run capped the quick drive and Colville led 14-0 at the 4:44 mark after Hillâs successful PAT conversion.

Quick strike

Key play in the seven-play drive was a Young 19-yard run and three Vining runs that totaled 19 yards.
But Clarkston struck quickly on a 65-yard pass from Foust to Trevor Sperry (eight catches for 152 yards). The PAT kick was good and Colville led 14-7 with 4:24 left in the second quarter.
Another promising CHS drive was thwarted with about two-minutes left in the quarter when Knight was intercepted at the Clarkston 25-yard-line.
The Indians still had time after freshman safety Kameron Strobel gave Colville a first down at the Clarkston 43-yard-line after an interception.
But Knight was sacked and the Indians went into intermission with a 14-7 lead.
Colvilleâs defense came up big once again with 6:49 left in the third quarter and the Indians clinging to that 14-7 lead. The Indians got a good push on Clarkstonâs fourth and one at the Colville eight-yard-line and took over on downs.
With 1:55 left in the quarter, the Indiansâ stop corps did it again, holding Clarkston on fourth and one at the CHS 42.

Breathing room

On a drive that started late in the third quarter and carried into the fourth period, the Indians took eight plays (all on the ground) to drive 58 yards for a little breathing room and a 20-7 lead. The Hill PAT kick was short of the uprights.
Knight finished off the drive with a niftyâand surprisingâ23 yard run to a touchdown.
Cornwell said he wasnât all that surprised by Knightâs run for the pylon.
âNobody counts Ben as a running threat,â Cornwell said of a QB who will never be mistaken for an elusive scrambler with foot speed. âBut heâs a lot faster than he was last season and he can be a running threat for us.â
Just ask Clarkston. On that play, Knight was a threat with his feet.
Colville turned back Clarkston once again midway through the fourth quarter. Jacob Morris batted down a pass in the end zone on fourth and goal (from the CHS four-yard-line).
That was it for Clarkston.
On its longest drive this fall, Colville ran clock, 96 yards and eight running plays to the end zone. Vining broke a couple of tackles in covering the final 19 yards.
Key play in the drive was Shoemakerâs 28-yard run on first down and a Young 18-yard gallop.
Defensively, middle linebacker Shoemaker and outside âbacker Jordan Booth led the way with nine tackles apiece. Strobel, back in action after missing two games, added eight more and his pick.
Cornwell knows that Deer Park is dangerous and gunning for an upset on Friday night. That said, he likes where his blue collar, lunch bucket-packing football team is right now.
âWe are getting better each week,â Cornwell said. âThe kids havenât hit their peak yet. They still have a lot to give and more to grow. Itâs gratifying to see that.
âThis is a group where we certainly arenât featuring anybodyâŠeverybody does his partâŠitâs a group that knows how to work and likes to work.â
ELSEWHERE
In the Upset Special of the Great Northern League season to date, West Valley (4-3, 3-1) upset rival East Valley (4-3, 3-1) 39-26 last Friday night.
WV and EV are one game behind league-leading Pullman, which comes to East Valley on Friday.
Colville is lurking, only one game behind Pullman.